Please vote in a true nerd fashion by adding 1 to the total for one country below that you think has the worst (best) nerds. For example, if you want to vote Taiwan, “quote” the previous post, and leave all other countries’ totals alone but add 1 to Taiwan’s and repost. Here we go. I vote for S Korea.
“Racist” is a little harsh. Call it “stereotypical”.
What does the “Italy of Asia” connote? Italians are a lot of things - stereotypically, la Cosa Nostra, BSDs (the Italian Stallions), butt-pinchers, pinochle-layers, passionate hand gesturers, … What do Koreans have in common with them?
You forgot Singapore! Singapore is like China, but remove all the farmers, factory workers, or other people who don’t have access to higher education. What remains are the super nerds of the nerds. It’s more or less like Taiwan, but more affluent - so more university nerds. South Korea still has pop stars and people obsessed with plastic surgery. They are not as nerdy as some of the other countries here.
I enjoyed listening to an attractive Singaporean woman tell me about how she thinks that authoritarianism is good for the country, because the leaders in her opinion run it right.
I replied that I didn’t really care what her opinion was, since under an authoritarian regime, it doesn’t count for anything. I only care about what Lee Hsien Loong thinks, and also the people he chooses to listen to.
Of course, that conversation was a while ago. There’s been some liberalization since then, but I don’t know how deep it goes.
The thing is, Singapore is extremely prosperous, especially compared to its neighboring countries. This is a plausible justification of their authoritarian government. Singapore’s government is extremely uncorrupt and meritocratic (I guess unless you want to become PM). Civil servants are paid generously. Thus, government can be a rewarding career for talented Singaporeans who can run the government well. The high relatively high pay also discourages bribe taking.
Plus, their economy is extremely liberal. Unemployment is 2%. Taxes are low. That Facebook guy denounced US citizenship and moved to Singapore. For some people, Singapore is more free than the US. Who cares if you cannot chew gum if the government lets you keep your money? Who cares if you cannot own a gun if no one wants a gun anyway?
I’m not saying that authoritarianism will work everywhere, but for a small homogenous island nation, maybe this is the best form of government. Since Singaporeans tend to be culturally similar, it is easy for them to agree on standardized government policy. Who cares if only one guy runs the government if that guy thinks the same way as you?
I’ll be the first to say that Singapore one of the better examples of benign dictatorship. Perhpas being a city-state as opposed to a larger country helps that happen. But when people start to say “it worked in Singapore, why can’t it work here,” then you have to figure out why it works in Singapore.
I suspect the homogeneity helps a lot. There may be fewer value conflicts to negotiate and so the leader feels constrained. There are also potential security threats to help focus government on the need for economic efficiency so that government does not turn parasitic.
Agree, “Racist” might have been harsh. But that’s why I said “a little.”
I guess romance is what they have in common. “Italy of Asia.” The phrase was in an article I read somewhere about how popular Korea is among Asian countries. Korean dramas (TV miniseries) have become popular across Asia. I guess these dramas are super melodramatic and always have hot young Koreans in them. They were interviewing a few different Asian non Korean girls who were dead set on meeting Korean guys. There are even websites set up to facilitate this in their countries.
I googled “Korean actresses” and this little gal was the first one to pop up. Very nice
For your poll, I would have to say Chinese or Indians. This being in the pocket protector type nerdy way. Japanese/Koreans/Singaporeans are too fashion forward IMO.
This is true. South Korea is the most wired (internet) country in the world per capita. Gaming is like a national sport there with sponsors and televised matches. Insanity.
Responding in general to the thread, that picture above is epic, but Japan cannot be number one. Weird, yes, nerdy no. If the question were, which country makes you say WTF?! the most times in one day, clearly it would be Japan without question (as confirmed by that photo – I have no idea what is happening there, but somehow I am not surprised at all).
I guess if you want to call India part of Asia, then India gets my vote. There is something about the weird British English accent and stiff, formal mannerisms that screams of nerdom. They also study insanely hard. My Indian friends with advanced degrees from Indian universities talk about 18 hour study days endlessly. Like they sleep in tiny cubbies and study engineering 18 hours a day for years straight. That can’t be healthy.
Yes, the Japanese are freaks. I dated a Japanese girl in a previous life and had an opportunity to go there a couple of times. Interesting how incredibly organized and well mannered they can be. Maybe the WTF factor is an outlet for them.
Taking a good nerd sample, overall I’d say Chinese, although in my experience a few Korean friends I met during business school were beyond robots. A couple of them told me that when they went to this university in Seoul with ridiculous selectivity rates, some people committed suicide despite having stellar grades. The reason was that the moment they got a bad note, even one assignment, that would immediately mean they wouldn’t be first in class because someone else would run the table with perfect grades. Apparently for some people it was something like an excruciating pain, and the only logical conclusion was to commit suicide. Maybe those cases were just f*cking crazy people, but still, I have to use my vote in memory of those bros.
Another possibility though is that this chick wasn’t really talking about politics, but she was using the topic as an excuse to suggest she liked to take it hard, being submitted and pounded with authority. Saying that she was OK with an authoritarian regime was the perfect way to convey the message.
